Tag : World

Here’s the weekly news debrief, with things to know from around the world for January 30th:

Vancouver:

The Chinese Lunar New Year Parade kicked off in downtown Vancouver to celebrate the year of the rooster. Some notable attendees included mayor Gregor Robertson and even our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who made a stop on his cross-country tour.

Canada:

Two men have been arrested in the heinous terrorist attack that claimed the lives of six people, injuring 14 in a Quebec City mosque last night. The motives are still unclear but it comes at a time during heightened tensions stemming from anti-Muslim groups that have been vocal around the city.

US:

After Donald Trump issued a nation-wide ban on Muslims entering the US, the streets filled with protests condemning his executive order. The countries listed are Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, which were deemed hot beds for Islamic extremism despite having no ties to terrorist attacks in the US. One thing is for sure; Donald Trumps divisive politics are actually bringing everyone together in solidarity.

International:

The Russian city of Rostov-on-Don experienced a strange phenomenon involving pillars of light emitting from the sky. People took to social media to show the beautiful display of nature, which turns out, was caused by light reflecting from crystals close to the ground.

Tech:

An innovative approach to reducing food waste sent to the landfill raised six times its goal on Indiegogo. The Zera Food Recycler serves as a collection bin for scraps, which turns it into nutrient rich fertilizer in just 24 hours with no smell. By placing a paper additive packet containing coconut husk fibers and baking soda in the machine, it chops them up with the waste and creates fertilizer. Science for the win!

Science:

A patient at Toronto General Hospital survived an incredible procedure that removed her lungs for six days. The dying mother had severely infected lungs that required immediate removal. The lungs were extracted and she was kept alive for six days until they could do a lung transplant. It’s believed to be first time this procedure has been performed.

Entertainment:

The 23rd annual SAG Awards kicked off this weekend. It wasn’t long before the Hollywood elite stepped up to voice their disdain towards the proposed Muslim ban issued by the president earlier in the week. Ashton Kutcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Emma Stone and Bryan Cranston were just a few that had some words of criticism.

Here’s the weekly news debrief, with things to know from around the world for December 12:

Vancouver:

Half of all Vancouver’s most expensive homes are secretly owned, meaning we have no idea whose fuelling the ultra-rich real estate market in the city. The NDP has called for more transparency, and to close the loophole on purchasing real estate through shell corporations.

Canada:

Syrian refugees celebrated one year officially coming to Canada over the weekend. Over 36,000 have been welcomed into Canada, and while it’s a good news story, the flip side is many are struggling to find work and their funding support was only meant to last a year.

US:

The CIA has “confidently” confirmed that Russia was involved in hacking to improve Trump’s odds at winning the Presidency. In an unprecedented move, but typical to Trump, he calls it nonsense, being the first incoming President to seriously undermine the CIA. At this point, Trump is going to convince the entire US population he is the only trustworthy person in America.

International:

The IOC has released a scathing report claiming Russia helped over 1,000 athletes tamper with doping tests in two Olympic games. And this apparently goes right to the Kremlin. It’s actually kinda crazy, the tests found male DNA in female athlete urine samples, so either Russia was cheating, or they’ve been secretly inserting men into the women’s games.

Tech:

Bill Gates, along with Alibaba head Jack Ma and other billionaires are launching a $1 Billion dollar fund to combat climate change. The fund is expected to run for 20 years and will help companies at all stages develop reliable and affordable clean tech. Looks like having a climate-change denying President may drive others to do it for him, that’s a small silver lining.

Science:

A very promising vaccine for HIV has been approved for Phase II trials, meaning it will be tested on HIV-negative patients to test the reliability of the drug. This is the biggest step medicine has taken to date in finding a vaccine for HIV and has already proven to be extremely effective in Phase I.

Entertainment:

Some guy who was fraudulently using his company credit card to buy things like cars and seasons tickets spent $1 Million dollars on the mobile game Game of War. One Million dollars on a mobile app!!